Vietnamese Ingenuity

I'm constantly amazed at Vietnamese ingenuity. The saying, "If there is a will, there is a way" applies here more than any place I've ever been.

When we went to Huyen's grandfather's village, someone brought a bottle of Da Lat wine. The problem with Da Lat wine is that it is sealed with a cork. All of the wine that is usually drunk in Huyen's Grandfather's village is from twist off bottles so hence nobody had a wine opener. The lack of a tool though didn't dissuade the crew of wine-thirsty men who quickly proceeded to figure out another way to open the bottle. The quickest and most logical way they came up with was to use a screw:

The Real Mr. Miagi

(PICTURE: On the left, Huyen's Grandfather. On the right, his brother.)

I have written in the past about Huyen's Grandfather's unbelievable strength. The last time I commented about it he was lifting himself up to a third level bunk bed on a train to Hue. Well, last weekend he proved to me that he is not only incredibly strong but he also has amazing hand-eye coordination.

On Sunday, Huyen and I went to her Grandfather's village for lunch. While eating outside, a lot of flies started to swarm around the food. Most of the men in my circle just waved their hands near the flies so that they would fly away. Not Huyen's Grandfather though. I personally saw her Grandfather eye at least four different flies and then catch them in his hands. I was dumbfounded at her Grandfather's skill and tried to imitate him -- I was totally unsuccessful. In fact, I tried so many times that all the old men around me started to laugh. One finally commented, "Ben doesn't like flying black beans."

Wedding Update: The Photographer II

(PICTURE: The first picture that shows up when you google wedding photographers.)

One thing I forgot to mention yesterday is that most wedding photographers DO NOT TAKE PICTURES AT THE WEDDING! This is a huge difference between American weddings and Vietnamese weddings. I have been to some wedding here that have a photographer/videographer but that is not part of the usual package that most wedding shops offer.

It is definitely possible to get someone to take pictures at the wedding and we're looking into this. My mom also suggested having everyone take pictures and then I can put together an album on Snapfish or some other website and print out a few copies for our family and Huyen's. Personally I think this is a great idea since a lot of my friends (especially from LA) are fantastic photographers. I'm hoping that one or two of them will come to the wedding and can take pictures. So if you're reading this LA people (Sam, Tom, Sebastian), you better be coming out to 'Nam!

Wedding Update: The Photographer

(PICTURE: Huyen in front of the photo shop we'll be using!)

Last weekend Huyen and I went to a few photographers and frankly didn't like any. I've made fun of wedding photographers/books in the past on my blog because:

1. Wedding books are taken weeks or months before the actual wedding. The books aren't so much about the wedding but are more about looking like models in often over-the-top actions shots.

2. The books often have English in them. The English is generally spelled wrong and often nonsensical. Even worse, I had one student show me her book and she had some rap lyrics on a page which she probably thought were romantic...but were basically about "tapping that..."

3. The pictures are completely photo-shopped. Half the albums we saw were either in sepia tone or drastically over colored.

The positive part about getting a photographer is that their services include:
1. Hair and make-up for the wedding and rehearsal dinner.
2. Ao Dais for all the girls at the rehearsal dinner.
3. A wedding dress for Huyen (if she doesn't want to make one)
4. A giant picture of the two of us that will be put at the entrance of the wedding.
5. A bunch of other small stuff...

After feeling like it was impossible to get a good photographer, we got a recommendation from one of Huyen's coworker. We went to the shop and were immediately won over. The pictures the photographer took were beautiful and didn't have a trace of photoshop. On top of that, there was only a little English in the albums...which still had spelling mistakes.

We immediately booked the photographer and will be taking pictures in three weeks. We'll have a half day shoot at a few different locations in Hanoi. Regardless of how it turns out, it should be a fun day!

Wedding Update: My Fat Fingers II

(PICTURE: They had these circle things which sized my fat fingers.)

We found a place that can make us wedding bands! Check one of forty things off the list...

Actually scratch that. We now we have to add something more to the list: Thinking up a good inscription in Vietnamese. Huyen and I have thought up some sayings we like but unfortunately their Vietnamese translations are a little too long for an inscription. Anyway, we've got 15 days to think of something good because that is when our rings will be done...

Immitation Is The Greatest Form Of Flattery

(PICTURE: The August/Zucker middle children's girlfriends.)

Shortly after my cousin Justin visited me in Hanoi, he returned to America and found himself in a relationship with a Vietnamese girl. I can only assume that Huyen's whit, charm, sense of humor and a thousand other qualities I talked about in our marriage interview inspired Justin to look for a similar girlfriend. From all accounts, everyone has told me that Kim, Justin's lady, was indeed a fantastic girl...and this week I got to verify the reports myself.

Kim, who emigrated to America when she was five, is spending about a month in Vietnam visiting family and touring the country. The other night, Kim was in Hanoi and Huyen and I took her out to dinner, dessert and drinks. Kim was as sweet and intelligent as billed by my cousins. I personally found it funny watching Kim and Huyen interact for a few reasons:

1. Kim speaks a southern dialect of Vietnamese which can be quite hard to understand for a northerner. Equally Huyen's northern dialect was a little hard for Kim to understand. Both were hard for me to understand.

2. It was really interesting to listen to things Kim likes as a Vietnamese American woman that Vietnamese girls don't like. For example, Kim's love of the sun...which I need not remind you is not popular here.

3. Since Kim is from the South and Huyen is from the North they inevitably got into a fight. Huyen stabbed Kim with a chopstick and Kim poured scalding hot water on Huyen's legs...okay, that didn't happen. In fact, Kim conceded that she liked Hanoi's pho better than Saigon's pho. This is a huge battle between the two ends of the country and considered blasphemy to betray your home region's pho.

It was great to meet Kim and Huyen and I were excited to hear that she's 50/50 on returning in December for our wedding!

Always The Tour Guide

(PICTURE: Me and the soon-to-be mother-in-law in front of the Opera House.)

I'm pretty sure there hasn't been a month that I've lived in Hanoi where I didn't play tour guide to a visiting friend or a friend of a friend. It seems that there are always people in town who are separated from me by just one or two degrees. In fact, over the last month, there have been three different people who I've shown around the city. Yes, this can get exhausting but it is always nice to give someone a tour; as I know from my own traveling there is nothing better than knowing a local in a foreign city.

Not too long ago, Huyen's mother came into Hanoi to visit her mother who was in the hospital for a foot operation. Despite living only an hour away from Hanoi, Huyen's mom has spent little to no time in the city. This is like living in Livingston, NJ and never going to New York.

Huyen and I couldn't let her mom come to the big city and not get a tour so we convinced her to leave the hospital for an hour and to come with us. We whisked her around the town and showed her a few famous places like Hoam Kiem Lake and the Opera House. However, Huyen's mom was much more interested in the food so we grabbed a couple of our favorite treats that weren't too far from the hospital. Despite only having an evening to play tour guide, it was great to give my future mother-in-law a tour of Hanoi!